


our lives are made in these small hours

by helsinkibaby



Category: The Flying Doctors
Genre: Canon Het Relationship, Community: 1-million-words, F/M, Fluff, Happily Ever After, Post Series, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-26
Updated: 2017-10-26
Packaged: 2019-01-23 16:25:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12511452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: Tom comes home tired after a long day at work.





	our lives are made in these small hours

**Author's Note:**

> For one million words October Bingo. Prompt "Little Wonders"

For as long as Tom's been working in the Kimberly, he can't remember a time when he hasn't come home dog tired at the end of the day. It's what comes with there being too much ground to cover, too many patients to see, but he'd be lying if he said that the tiredness wasn't mitigated somewhat by the sense of exhilaration that came with it, with the knowledge that he's practising real medicine, that he's making a difference out here. 

It's a heady feeling, one that makes it all worthwhile. 

Well, most nights that is. 

Tonight is one of those rare nights where exhilaration has been smothered by plain old tiredness and he's just glad to be home. 

He kicks off his shoes when he opens the door, puts them neatly beside the hall table, pushes his medical bag in one of the spaces underneath. It fits in neatly beside its twin, a sight that still makes him grin as he cocks his head and listens to the house. 

When silence greets him, he knows better than to call out. He checks the living room first, finds it empty and clicks off the lamp in the corner. The kitchen is in darkness so he heads on up the hall to their bedroom and the sight he sees when he stands in the doorway makes his heart skip a beat. 

The bedside lamp is switched on, but Chris is lying on her side under the covers, her eyes closed, her breathing deep and even. At her side, lying on her back in the middle of the bed, is their eight month old daughter, her black curls a stark contrast to the pale linen, her cheeks flushed pink with sleep, lips pursed in the most adorable pout Tom has ever seen. Chris's arm is around the baby's waist, just in case, but she's miles away from the edge of the bed and a pillow serves as a further buffer for her. 

It's not as good, Tom knows, as her daddy's body and he grins as he strips his clothes from his body, tosses them into the laundry hamper and pulls a t-shirt and shorts from the dresser drawer as quietly as he can. 

He's quiet enough not to wake the baby but Chris is a different story and as he's pulling the pillow gently off the bed, lifting the covers to slip inside, she's blinking at him, pupils huge and dark in the dim light. "What time is it?" 

"Late." He balances ever so carefully and leans over to press a very quick kiss to her cheek. "Bad night?" 

Chris's cheeks darken and she bites her lip as she looks down at the baby. "I thought she'd never settle," she whispers. "Stupid teeth." 

"A curse coming and going." Nancy Buckley's words, uttered in as close to her tone as he can get, make Chris smile. "Ready to try whiskey on the dummy yet?" 

That had been Nancy's suggestion on last month's visit to Cooper's Crossing, one that Chris had politely deflected. In private with Tom, she'd been a good deal more animated about it. A few sleepless nights later, however, and Tom is starting - almost - to see the appeal. Not so Chris, however, not if how she narrows her eyes at him is anything to go by. Still though, her lips twitch as she says, "Not quite," and he fights back a laugh as he lies down, scooting as close to the baby as he can without waking her. 

Chris reaches over, runs a hand down his cheek. "You look tired. I can bring her-"

"I am tired." He catches her hand, moves it so that he can press a kiss into the palm. "But the two of you... here? It's just what I needed." 

Her smile is bright, brilliant and maybe the baby hears the words too because she shifts a little, one hand starting to move around. Tom reacts without thinking, reaches for it and the next thing he knows, his thumb is wrapped in a tiny bit strong fist and he wouldn't move it even if he wanted to. "Guess that settles that." Chris sounds amused as she settles herself back down and all Tom can do is smile. 

He's still tired, bone tired, but he fights sleep a while longer, just so he can stare at the two of them. 

He doesn't regret a thing.


End file.
